1. Technical Field
The following disclosure relates to an apparatus and method for sterilizing electrosurgical instruments and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for sterilizing laparoscopic instruments.
2. Description of Related Art
Laparoscopic surgery generally requires deploying a laparoscopic instrument into a body cavity. Prior to the laparoscopic procedure, the laparoscopic instrument and components associated therewith must be sterilized.
Commonly employed methods of sterilizing laparoscopic instruments include pasteurization, which requires heating, traditional chemical methods, such as chamber methods, which require flooding a chamber with a sterilant, usually a mix of ethylene oxide (commonly referred to EtO) and other gases, and micro-dose methods, which require introducing a sterilant, such as EtO, to a specially designed device.
Pasteurization may be an effective method for sterilizing some, but not all, laparoscopic instruments; this is because heat applied during pasteurization may cause damage to some, if not all, the heat sensitive materials located on or attached to the laparoscopic instrument.
Traditional chemical methods (e.g., chamber methods) of sterilization may have drawbacks inherent to the use of large amounts of sterilant being released into a large space, some of which may include increased cost, increased production time and may require larger amounts of toxic processing. Although micro-dose methods alleviate some of the drawbacks associated with the chamber methods of sterilization, micro-dose methods of sterilization have drawbacks as well. For example, the micro-dose method of sterilization is suitable when a small amount of instruments need to be sterilized.